Bust

Well, apparently VamPickle was a bust.

Judging from the response to my last post, the story of VamPickle, the not-quite a vampire, the Vampire who tickles, did not enthrall the vast majority of the audience. So we’ll cut right to the chase, and then move on.

I am Vampickle.

It’s a game I occasionally play with Chris and Tommy, who love to get into their Superman and Batman outfits and play Superheroes. All Superheroes need a super villain. In previous play they have vanquished Doctor Stinker. I thought they would enjoy a having a new evildoer to test themselves against, so I created VamPickle.

Chris and Tommy love to do battle with VamPickle.

But apparently I did not tell the story well enough to make it really engaging. Hey, you win some, you lose some.

I guess my point is simply this. I try hard to engage my kids in fun, interesting play. I want to stimulate their minds, be involved with them, and create a bond with them. Sure, right now they are only five and three years old. I don’t think I can remember a single thing from when I was that age. But I do remember my mom and dad interacting with me throughout my childhood. I remember always feeling like my mom and dad were there for me, would make time for me, would put down what they were doing and listen to me if I needed to talk to them.

I want my boys to feel the same way about me.

And to some extent I feel the same when it comes to blogging. It would not be very interesting if my post said, “Today I tickled Chris and Tommy. They laughed. We had fun. Then everyone went to bed. The End.”

Not only is there no passion, energy and excitement in a post like that, it doesn’t convey what actually transpired.

If you’re going to make the time to read this blog, I want to make it worth your while. And I think at some level I’ve been successful. I know several readers come back a few times each week and are kind enough to leave encouraging comments. I know others stop by regularly and choose to remain silent, and that’s fine as well. I look at the site statistics, and though readership has dropped by about half since I am no longer linked to a very popular blog, there are still quite a few people who visit this site.

So I try to convey some of the sense of fun and engagement I have with my boys into this blog. I tell stories. I try to make it interesting. I try to put into words the pure love I have for my kids, my wife, and my life.

I love my life. I am truly blessed.

Yet as I mentioned recently, I am an Ordinary Man. The stories are simple. They will appeal to some people and not to others. It’s just another slice of life, posted on the Internet, for the viewing pleasure of those who choose to read it.

There’s only so much a person can say about their life.

So I hope you’ll put up with the occasional post that falls a bit flat. Because, truth be told, Life occasionally has its flat moments. As wonderful as my life is, there are stretches, believe it or not, where nothing very interesting happens. So I sit here in front of the keyboard and think to myself, “What the hell can I say tonight? Why should anyone care? I need to post something…”

And that’s when VamPickle raised his ugly head.

My final thought tonight is this. Thank you, each of you, who make time out of your day to check in on the Family Man, his two wonderful boys, his absolutely spectacular wife, and his rambling, verbose posts. It amazes me to see that people are reading this from all over the world – not just theUSA, but from Australia, Scandinavia, Singapore, India, and other places far from here. There’s even someone from the east coast of Africa who stops by – I’m ashamed to admit how Ameri-centric I am that I cannot tell the Country by looking at the dot on the world map.

I’ll try to raise the bar in future posts. Keep the standard high. And I hope you’ll let me know when I fall flat, as well as when I strike a chord that resonates with you.

I don’t want to beg for comments, but if you have a moment I’d love to know why you find my blog worth your time. Some of you are regulars, but for the rest of you, perhaps sometime you could drop a line or two about why you read these posts. If you don’t want to comment in the public forum, click the e-mail link.

I promise I’ll do better next time.

It’s okay to be VamPickle. Once in a while.

But it’s always great to be The Family Man.